SELF HELP GROUPS BOOST TUR MERIC PRO DUC TION IN MEGHALAYA A SUC CESS STORY

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1 HortFlora Research Spectrum, 2(3): (July-Sept. 2013) ISSN : SELF HELP GROUPS BOOST TUR MERIC PRO DUC TION IN MEGHALAYA A SUC CESS STORY N.A. Deshmukh 1 *, R.K. Patel 1, Bidyut C. Deka 2, V.K. Verma 1, A.K. Jha 1 and J.E. Pathaw 1 1 Di vi sion of Hor ti cul ture, ICAR Re search Com plex for NEH Re gion, Umiam , Meghalaya 2 ICAR Re search Com plex for NEH Re gion, Nagaland Cen tre, Jharnapani, Nagaland. * nadeshmukh1981@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Front line demonstrations (FLD) on high yielding turmeric cv. Megha Turmeric-1 were conducted at Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya under farmer s participatory mode during year A total of eleven SHGs from nine villages involving 122 farmers were participated in demonstration covering the total area about 7.5 ha area. From the FLD, q of fresh turmeric was produced from a 7.5 ha area with productivity of q/ha. The attractive gross return (Rs Rs/ha) and net returns (Rs /ha) with higher B:C ratio (2.52) were recorded by the SHGs with adoption of scientific management practices. Production of turmeric through farmer s participatory mode with technological intervention (Megha Turmeric-1) not only increased the production of turmeric but also generated employment and developed entrepreneurship among tribal farmers. Keywords: Tur meric, yield, FLD, SHGs, net re turn. In Meghalaya more than 80% farm ers are di rectly or in di rectly de pend ent upon ag ri cul ture. The agro eco log i cal con di tion of the state pro vides im mense op por tu nity for the com mer cial ex ploi ta tion of the hor ti cul tural crops. Among the hor ti cul tural crops in Meghalaya state, spices found in te gral place in the socio-eco nomic life of the tribal farm ers and re corded an area of thou sand hectare with the pro duc tion and pro duc tiv ity of thou sand tones and 4.44 tones/ha, re spec tively dur ing (Anon, 1). Among the spices, tur meric (Curcuma longa L.) is an im por tant crop cul ti vated by the farm ers in the state hav ing mar ket po ten tial (Singh, 4). Among spices, tur merics share about 11.54% in area and 13.34% in pro duc tion (Anon, 1). Turmeric is ex ten sively used as stim u lant, blood pu ri fier, tonic, as car mi na tive and rem edy against the skin dis eases, pain and anthelmintic (Sirmal, 5). The Lakadong va ri ety of tur meric is in dig e nous to the state, but this va ri ety has low yield po ten tial cou pled with sus cep ti ble to leaf spot and leaf blotch lim its its fur ther ex pan sion. A new va ri ety Megha Tur meric-1 is a prom is ing tur meric cultivar de vel oped by the ICAR Re search Com plex of NEH Re gion, Meghalaya through clonal se lec tion form Received : Accepted : Lakadong.This va ri ety is suit able for mid hills con di tion, takes 300 to 315 days to crop ma tu rity. The av er age yield of rhi zome per clump is g with yield po ten tial of 270q/ha. Fur ther it con tained 16.37% dry mat ter, 6.8% curcumin and 5.5% es sen tial oil and is highly tol er ant to leaf spot and leaf blotch (Yadav et al., 6). During last decade the demand of turmeric (fresh & dry) from the state were increased substantially. But availability of quality seed material was one of the important bottlenecks in expansion of area, which ultimately hamper production and productivity. So that, increase in availability of quality planting material (Megha Turmeric-1) is need of hour for tapping the available potential in turmeric trade. Production of turmeric through farmer s participatory mode is way ahead to fulfil the fast growing demand for turmeric from various stake holders. This will create employment opportunity and helps in development of entrepreneurship in tribal farmers. MATERIALS AND METHODS With intensive survey and village level meetings with farmers, the interested farmers groups (SHGs) were identified for turmeric

2 Self help groups boost turmeric production in Meghalaya A success story 231 cultivation at Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya during The details about scientific turmeric cultivation practices, its importance and potential of the selected area were discussed with Self Help Groups (SHGs). Hands on trainings were organized for the selected SHGs along with the exposure visit to research farm.total eleven SHGs involving 122 farmers of nine villages were selected for front line demonstration of Megha Turmeric-1 variety. The total 135 q seed 18 q/ha were distributed to SHGs for turmeric cultivation on 7.5 ha area. The details of the SHGs involved and their village and area covered is depicted in Table 1. Table 1: List of SHGs involved in the turmeric cultivation. Name of SHGs Name of Village Area (ha) Demkhtop SHG Mawteng, 1 Iaiminot SHG Rtiang (Umsning) 1 Honey Dew Multipurpose Cooperative society UmroiNongrah 1 Roilang Farmers Club Umjarasi, Nongpoh 1 Pynroilang SHG Liarbang 0.5 SymbohBarit SHG Liarbang 0.5 Kyntiewlang SHG Rongsikong, Nongpoh 0.5 Chriatian Hope Ministry Society Sohriewblei 0.5 Imlang SHG Umshit, Nongpoh 0.5 Tiki&Chinthur SHG Belkuri, Nongpoh 0.5 Melur SHG III Belkuri, Nongpoh 0.5 Total 7.5 Scientific management practices for turmeric recommended by Yadav et al. (6) were followed. The land was ploughed 4-5 times to bring the soil into fine tilth and the raised beds of about 15 cm height were made. The turmeric rhizomes were planted in the raised bed at a spacing of 30cm x 30cm during April-May. The FYM 20 t/ha was applied at the time of field preparation followed by 120: 90:90 Kg/ha. The 1/3 nitrogen and full doses of phosphorus and potassium were applied at the time of planting and 1/3 quantity of nitrogen was applied at 45 days after planting and remaining 1/3 of nitrogen at days after planting. The first weeding was done in June followed by subsequent hoeing and earthing up from July to September at fortnightly intervals. Mulching was done with locally available materials like green leaves, dry grasses and paddy straw. The crop was ready for harvesting after 8-9 month of planting (Dec-Jan). The cultivation practices followed are depicted in Plate 1-6. Observation on fresh turmeric yield (q) and productivity (q/ha) were recorded at all selected locations. The cost of cultivation of different inputs viz., planting material, FYM, fertilizers, agro chemicals and labour incurred by the SHGs were calculated. Similarly, gross return, net return and B:C ratio were calculated on the basis of fresh turmeric Rs. 15/.The mean values were presented as per statistical procedure given by Panse and Sukhatme (3). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A total q of fresh turmeric (Table 2) were produced from 7.5 ha area with a productivity of q/ha by SHGs under participatory mode. Among the SHGs highest productivity was recorded by Imlang SHG ( q/ha) followed by Pynroilang SHG ( q/ha) and Demkhtop SHG ( q/ha), while lowest productivity was recorded by Honey Dew Multipurpose Cooperative Society ( q/ha). The variation in results may

3 232 Deshmukh et al. Table 2: Turmeric yield realization by the different SHGs. Name of SHGs Area (ha) Fresh yield (q) Productivity (q/ha) Demkhtop SHG Iaiminot SHG HoneyDew MultipurposeCooperative society Roilang Farmers Club Pynroilang SHG SymbohBarit SHG VII Kyntiewlang SHG Chriatian Hope Ministry Society Imlang SHG Tiki&Chinthur SHG Melur SHG III Total/Mean be due to prevailing agro-climatic condition of the location and adoption of recommended scientific management practices by the SHGs. These results are in line with Kumar (2). The results depicted in Table 3 showed that the mean average cost of turmeric cultivation per ha was Rs. 92,856 ha with gross and net return of Rs ha and Rs ha, respectively. The higher B:C ratio (2.52) was also recorded.the result (Table 3) showed the variation in performance of selected SHGs. Among the SHGs, highest gross return (Rs ha), net return (Rs ha) and B:C ratio (2.89) was recorded by Imlang SHG followed by Pynroilang SHG (Rs ha, Rs ha and 2.82, respectively) and Demkhtop SHG (Rs ha, Rs ha and 2.80, respectively). The difference in monitory return among the selected SHGs may be due to varied agro-climatic condition prevailed in particular location and adoption of management practices on time by the SHGs. The technological intervention (Megha Table 3: Returns earned by the SHGs through turmeric cultivation. Name of SHGs Cost of cultivation Gross return Net return B:C ratio Demkhtop SHG Iaiminot SHG Honey Dew MultipurposeCooperative society Roilang Farmers Club Pynroilang SHG SymbohBarit SHG VII Kyntiewlang SHG Chriatian Hope Ministry Society Imlang SHG Tiki & Chinthur SHG Melur SHG III Mean

4 Self help groups boost turmeric production in Meghalaya A success story 233 Plate 1: Land preparation by SHGs in supervision of scientist. Plate 5: Collection of turmeric rhizomes. Plate 2: Planting of Megha Turmeric-1. Plate 3: Healthy turmeric crop. Plate 4: Harvesting of turmeric. Plate 6: Turmeric sold by SHGs. Turmeric-1 and scientific management practices) helped to achieve higher returns to SHGs. With this success, several farmers from the nearby villages are coming forward for turmeric cultivation. Around 30 ha area was brought under cultivation during and more than 5 times increase in area was seen within one year. Production of turmeric through participatory mode increased the availability of planting material to SHGs for next year planting.it helped in reduction in the cost incurred on purchase of planting material and ultimately reduced the cost of cultivation. Due to this turmeric cultivation is now become a regular profitable enterprise for the SHGs along with other income generation enterprises (e.g. piggery, poultry). ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Authors acknowledge to the DBT for financial assistance under the project entitled Establishment of DBTs Rural-Bio resource complex in NE India and Director, ICAR Research Complex for NEH

5 234 Deshmukh et al. Region, Umiam (Meghalaya) for providing all the experimental facilities for conducting the experiment. REFERENCES 1. Anonymous (2012). Indian Horticulture Database, Published by National Horticulture Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, Gurgaon. 2. Kumar, B. (2005). Growth and yield of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) as affected by different agronomic practices. Ph.D. Dissertation, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. 3. Panse V.G. and Sukhatme P.V. (1985). Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers. 4 th ed. ICAR, New Delhi. 4. Singh, G. (2010). Blooming horticultural revolution in north eastern region. Indian Hort., ICAR, New Delhi, Pp Srimal, R.C. (1997). Turmeric: a brief review of medicinal properties. Fitoterapia 68(6): Yadav, R.K., Sanwal, S.K., Deka, B.C., Ngachan, S.V., Sarma, P. and Buragohain J. (2009). Vegetable improvement in north eastern region. ICAR-RC-NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya. 70: